The Slangen + Koenis architecture firm from the Netherlands specializes in public buildings, particularly recreation areas such as swimming pools and sports facilities.
Here, we profile two of their projects, with a focus on the facades of each. While both buildings ultimately resulted in modern and attractive places to relax and exercise, CFile feels (obviously) that the ceramic cladding on the De Geusselt sporting complex (seen above) is a superior aesthetic to the brick facade for an earlier sports facility, the Fletiomare Utrecht Swimming Pool.
The De Geusselt building links to a park that has a number of recreational public areas, which the architects intended to enhance through the design of the new swimming pool. The nearby park also makes for an excellent sunbathing area.
The Swimming Pool Complex De Geusselt in Maastricht. Photographs by Marcel van den Berg, courtesy of Slangen + Koenis Architects.
The facade is a nod to the ceramics industry in Maastricht, a driving force of the local economy since the founding of an earthenware factory in 1836. The architects state:
“A durable ceramic front that fits in with the ceramic history of the city of Maastricht and the compound wood/aluminium curtain walls give the building its natural character. The relief of the tinted front with the large grass areas incorporated in it and the moulded volume create an exciting monolithic statue, which gives the sports complex, on the same level as the Geusseltpark, a pavilion-like character by carefully fitting the building mass on, and in, the hill that is yet to be laid out.”
Compare that to the Fletiomare swimming pool from a few years earlier. The facility sits within a group of gardens and was built so that each of these unique places can be seen equally from the building.
The goal here for the architects was to make the building fit in with the area’s rural aesthetic. Unfortunately, the brick looks dour, overly-institutional, like a public elementary school. We’re the first to admit our aesthetic bias toward ceramic tile, so in the interest of fairness we should let the architects say something in their defense:
“The exterior is characterized by the brickwork and aluminum curtain walls, the aluminium compositions and the parapets, grids and steel-coated railings. It makes the building look very robust and sturdy and the quality of the building can be maintained with little effort. The details are modern.”
The Fletiomare Utrecht Swimming Pool. Photographs by Mark Prins, courtesy of Slangen + Koenis Architects.
Above image: The Swimming Pool Complex De Geusselt in Maastricht. Photographs by Marcel van den Berg, courtesy of Slangen + Koenis Architects.
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